May 6
SUDAN:
Muslims demand death sentence for editor
In Khartoum, scores of Sudanese gathered on Thursday in front of a
courthouse to demand a death sentence for the editor of a daily newspaper
who is accused of insulting Islam's prophet.
Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, editor of the independent and pro-Islamist Al
Wifaq, is standing trial for republishing an article from the Internet
that questioned the parentage of the Prophet Muhammad.
The newspaper has been suspended for 3 days. Ahmed refuted the charges and
apologised in a letter to the press.
Police filled the area around the courthouse early on Thursday in
anticipation of the crowds. Hundreds of people gathered by mid-afternoon.
'A faseq shall not be asked to repent, but be killed right away' "Death
for the faseq!" many chanted, using the Arabic word for a deviant Muslim.
"A faseq shall not be asked to repent, but be killed right away," one man
shouted.
One group of Islamists carried a banner reading, "Attending the trial is a
way of expressing your support for the prophet."
Blasphemy and insulting Islam can bring the death penalty in Sudan, which
has been governed by strict Islamic Sharia law since 1983.
In a letter of apology published on Thursday by the official Sudan Media
Centre, Ahmed said he had written three articles in response to the issue
and defended the prophet.
"Despite this it was misunderstood that my paper's republishing of this
article was an offence on the person of the prophet, God forbid," Taha
wrote.
"I'm writing this apology in the hope that they will forgive and pray for
me, and I swear by God that I meant well," Taha said.
The letter was aimed at decreasing the rising tension before Friday
prayers, when prayer leaders would likely take up the issue.
(source: South African Press Agency)
